Part 20: I'm a goddess with a blade - Part 1

Special Bonding Update I (Part 1): I’m a goddess with a blade
Song Title Reference: POP/STARS by K/DA

The 13th Maiden has decided to appear out of nowhere, so now we need to put everything else on hold and get her caught up to the other Star Maidens.

I had assumed that the trigger for this would have been plot related, but it turns out that all you need to do is raise the City Level to 6 or 7. I was a little disappointed to learn that, because I know what it means for Maiden 13’s role. Namely, I wouldn’t go getting too excited about her being seen outside of her Bonding Events. All signs point to her not having any role in the main plot at all, or at the very least, she won’t be named by anyone in the plot.



Oh well. All we can do is look ahead and make the best out of the situation. After setting our 1.0 teams free in order to do… whatever the hell it is Independent Star Children do in Granvania, the City Level reached 7 and a few additions were made to Granvania. There was a new quest at the Tavern and the Gift Shop got some new stock (we’ll check those another time).



There is no notification for the Star God Academy, but if we decide to pop in now that the city is Level 7…





We are introduced (if that’s what you can call it) to Alfie, the Ophiuchus Star Maiden!

Alfie was originally introduced in Conception’s anime adaption. We’ll touch more on the anime later in the LP (unfortunately), but I want to highlight that although Alfie was technically introduced in that, she was probably conceived for the game. I don’t know what kind of development time that CP had, but the anime was announced in May of 2018 and the PLUS remaster for PS4 was shown off in September of that same year (also, despite the announcement, the anime didn’t actually premiere until October).

Anyway, that’s all speculation. Regardless when and for what purpose she was designed, she’s here now. So let’s get working on her bonding events. She needs to catch up.




Stop screwing around!

Huh? Is that coming from inside the camp?

You think you can defeat the Impurity God like that?! His minions will swarm you and you’ll be forced to turn tail and run! Do you really want that?!

(Getting pretty intense in there. I didn’t think training camp was so harsh. I guess I kind of underestimate that Star Child because of how small and cute she is. Although… that doesn’t really sound like the trainer that I usually talk to.)

All right! You get a five minute break! Rehydrate and we’ll resume training!

(Oh, someone’s coming out.)

*Alfie wanders onto the scene*



Uh… Hi. How’s it going?

God’s Gift?! Hello! I-I mean, pleased to meet you! My name’s Alfie, and I train the Star Children here!



Oh, nice to meet you too.

Um! What brings you here today?

I was just sort of passing by. I heard a commotion, so I was curious to see what was happening.

Oh… I’m so sorry. I get so heated up whenever it comes to training… Could you hear me from outside the building…?

Loud and clear. You were very… passionate about it.

Oh… really?

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t totally sure what kind of training the Star Children got here. It sounds like serious work, though. Good thing, too. I’d be dead without them helping me. I’ll be counting on you to help them stay in fighting shape.

Yes! I’ll do my best!

*Alfie poses again*

Good to hear. I feel a little more relieved knowing that someone like you is raising them.

Yes!



I, Alfie… am at your service!

*Alfie poses once more*

…Right. Hey, can I ask you about something?

Yes! Anything for you, God’s Gift!

Why do you keep doing that pose?

Oh, this?



Well, yeah. I guess it has a certain charm to it.

I know, right? Don’t you just feel better seeing this? It makes you feel happier, doesn’t it?!

Why are you doing it so much though?

Um… because… I was influenced by God’s Gift.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve never done something like that before.

No. I mean the God’s Gift who created me.

Excuse me?

Created… Wait, what? So you’re-

Yep, I’m a Star Child.



You might notice that Alfie has little stars in her irises. Someone in the CII thread threw out a theory at one point that Ellie was a Star Child (they guessed she was Wake’s from the future or something) that had grown up. Ellie also had stars in her eyes (her pupils were star shaped). Ellie turned out not to be a Star Child, but it seems that the developers used the idea for Alfie. I wonder if this is what Ellie’s backstory was meant to be, before it got switched to that church thing.

H-Hold on, Star Children can grow up?! How?

There’s a special reason in my case… Um… Would you like to know?

I am pretty curious, but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.

Well… I just wanted to help everyone out more. The God’s Gift from back then had said… “The idols of Sora are so earnest, pure, and transcendent”…



Oh Christ, he was a Wota. Well, I guess that’s not much of a surprise. Star God seems to like swiping male Japanese teenagers for His regularly scheduled world saving. He’s bound to get a few… types.

I thought that was amazing. So I wanted to be able to help in that way.

That doesn’t really explain how you were able to grow up when other Star Children supposedly can’t.

Ah, I get it. So you’re trying to become an idol yourself, then.

N-No way! I just really admire the idols from Sora… I want to be someone who can give love to everyone. That’s all.

I see. I don’t really recognize that pose, though. I haven’t seen any idols doing it, at least.

I heard it’s the signature pose of God’s Gift’s favorite idol from back then.

Back then… Right. I guess that would have been 30 years ago. I wouldn’t know about any of them then.

*The bell or chime or something then goes off in the background. Not sure if it’s signalling the top of the hour or if the Star Child Training Camp operates like a school and this is the recess bell*

Oh, it’s time… I need to get back to training. I’m honored to have met you, God’s Gift.

Oh, sure. Same here. Oh! Before you go, would it be okay if I dropped in again some other time? I kind of want to see how you train them.

Not at all! We’ll be ready for you any time!

Great. Thanks. Sorry to keep you.

Good day to you, God’s Gift.

By the way, could you maybe not call me God’s Gift all the time? My name is Itsuki.



*Alfie then heads back to the Star Children*

All right! Your five minutes are up! You done rehydrating?! Training will now resume! Put your mind, body, and spirit into it!

(Wow. She does a complete 180 when she gets into her training…)

She really does. I’m not sure about the English performance, but Alfie is voiced by Ai Kakuma in Japanese (not sure on her anime roles, but I know she voiced Edelgard in FE: Three Houses and Setsuna in I Am Setsuna). Ai flips between “cute” voices and “mature/commanding” voices, which is what Alfie does. She sounds a lot like the other Star Maidens when talking to Itsuki, but her voices gets deeper and more forceful when she’s training the Star Children.

Next event time. Let’s keep it rolling.


~Day Camp~

All right, all of you! Grit your teeth! Do as I say, or you’ll bite your tongue during battle!

*There’s a pause. It seems it’s break time for the kiddos*

Good, now take five! Be sure to hydrate yourselves!

*Alfie wanders onto the screen*

Oh… God’s Gift. You’re here.

You seem just as pumped up as the last time I saw you.



I can’t let my guard down for one second.

I should be taking notes from you. That’s the kind of drive that I should have. I’m glad you’re the one training the Star Children. I appreciate everything you do for them.

Hehe… I wish I could enter the labyrinths with you, God’s Gift.

I’m guessing that you can’t, though. Right? Because of your training duty?

Yes, I was given this mission by the king himself… That’s why I’ve decided.

Decided on what?

God’s Gift… do you remember what you asked me before?

Uhh…

You asked why I look like this, despite being a Star Child.

Oh, right. That. I forgot that you didn’t answer.

I… have the ability to give birth to Star Children.



The hell does that work? Did Star God know that the Star Chaos was coming up again?

I’m Alfie, a Star Child!

…Wait, what?



Phrasing.

I want to be able to help the God’s Gift more! I want to help protect the people of Granvania I love so much!

Wait, you’re the Ophiuchus Maiden? Nobody told me that there was a Star Maiden for that sign.

Not even Mirei?

No. She didn’t say a word about it when I was talking with her and Narcisstes. Are you sure that she knows?

Among the Star Maidens, Mirei is the only one that does know.

Why would she not tell me about that…

The developers never gave her the updated script.

Itsuki, you don’t want to do it with me?

I didn’t say that. I think having you on board would be a huge help.

Assuming that we need a Star Offering for the Ophiuchus Labyrinth in order to stop the world from being overrun by Impurities and everyone dying, I’d say Alfie’s help is pretty much required.

Huh? Then… Itsuki… Thank you!


~Church Spirit Chamber~

This is the same event, by the way. You’ll be disappointed to learn that Alfie has half as many events as the other Star Maidens. The other Star Maidens have 2 full events and a Classmating event for each level of bond gauge. Alfie gets 1 full event and a hybrid event that is partially a bonding event and partially a Classmating event. They might be a tiny bit longer than the other Maiden events, but it’s still kind of a letdown that she has fewer.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a Star Maiden ask me to do Classmating before. It’s nice. I’m not feeling as nervous.



I’m not yet a Star Maiden.

What? But you just-

In order to release my powers as Star Maiden, I need your help. So please keep this a secret from everyone! Especially from Mirei… Will you help me?

This is the likely excuse for the developers not writing Alfie into the plot, by the way. Remember, the status of the Ophiuchus labyrinth is currently top secret. Mirei is the only Star Maiden that knows there is a 13th Labyrinth. Introducing Alfie to the other Star Maidens would also reveal the existence of the 13th Star Sign/Labyrinth.

It’s still lazy as fuck and no excuse for excluding Alfie from the main plot. Not to mention, the game will later nullify this excuse in a different event.

It sounds like you’ve got a reason for keeping it a secret. Well… Okay, I’ll help. It’s not like everyone else haven’t been keeping secrets of their own. Especially Mirei and Narcisstes. So then what do I need to do?

My powers as a Star Maiden are still sealed… And to unlock that seal… I need… the God’s Gift’s kiss.

…What?

Yes… A kiss from the God’s Gift during the Mating ceremony. That kiss will be the key to unlock the seal.



I wanted to include this screenshot because on top of the grammar error, you’ll also notice that Itsuki also called this the “Mating ceremony.” I’m not sure why this change was made just for Alfie’s event. It’s referred to as “Classmating”, “Classmating ritual”, and “Love ceremony” (in the Japanese version), but this is the first time it’s ever been called “Mating ceremony.” Did the writing team forget what it was called when they were writing Alfie’s scenes and just decided to come up with a new term instead of checking? I think she actually does call it Classmating later on, too. Weird.

To be honest, I’m really resistant to the idea. Because kissing is… …

Alfie…?

Oh, I’m sorry. It’s nothing. So… Will you kiss me?

I… Uh… I… I guess? I did say I would help you. …I just didn’t think I would have to do this.

Sigh… Okay, I’m prepared now. Please do it!



C-Calm down! I haven’t done this before. I’m really nervous… Could you maybe close your eyes or something? Staring at me like that is making this a lot harder.

A-All right. I just need to close them?

*After closing her eyes*

Come on! Let it rain cats or dogs! Anything!

I’m not even sure what you’re talking about anymore… But… here goes nothing…

(Come on, Itsuki. Man up. You can do this. Just… blank your mind like usual…)

Y-Yes… …

*Alfie then backs off a little. Seems to have some tears in her eyes as well*

Ugh…

Wh-What’s wrong?! What did I do?!

Ugh… I guess I can’t… Kissing is so… It’s too much…

Whew… *sigh*… Does that mean you want to call this off?

Ugh… I’m so sorry… I was the one who suggested it, but…

No, it’s fine. I understand. We only just met. Kissing is taking it a little too far.

*Mirei then arrives on the scene*



Mirei, why are you here?

You weren’t back even after break was over, so the Star Children were worried. Why are you with the God’s Gift? Don’t tell me you’ve released your powers as Star Maiden…

Mirei… I want to better help everyone.

There are plenty of ways to do that. There’s no reason for you to take this path.

Why are you putting me down? I know how you feel, but…

You can’t do this, Alfie. If you did…

You just don’t understand, Mirei!



Y-Yes I can!

I think this is another grammar/translation error. Either Alfie should have said “Y-Yes it can!” or Mirei should have said “You can’t break the seal that easily anyway.”

This is easy for me!

You can’t do it. Now back to the Day Camp you go, Alfie.

I know she’s a Star Child and all, but Alfie is still your senior, Mirei. I’d say probably by 5-10 years. You shouldn’t be talking to her like that.

Mirei, you’re such a jerk! I-In that case… Itsuki, I’m sorry!

Wait, sorry for wh-

*The screen goes white and we hear a little kissing sound*

Oh, no…

Wh-What just happened…?

Mirei… I want to live for the sake of Granvania. That’s why I will become the Ophiuchus Star Maiden!

How can you do this…?

What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?



Once again, I feel like this should be rewritten: “No, all you did was release Alfie’s power and give her death.”

Wait, death?! What are you talking about?

You can ask her yourself.

*Mirei then leaves*

Hey! Don’t just walk away like that! …Alfie, what was she talking about? What did she mean?

That… isn’t something you need to worry about as the God’s Gift. Never mind that! Now we can do the Mating ceremony! Come on, Itsuki. Let’s do the Mating ceremony and make Star Children.

Wait, but-

*Too late, Mating Classmating time! I’m not calling it the “Mating Ceremony”, game. Fuck you*



I’ll take this opportunity to introduce a new Star Child, since Alfie is the key to unlocking it.

Astromancers can only be created after all Star Maidens have reached at least Bond Level 3. In the original Conception, that just meant the 12 original Star Maidens. However, the addition of Alfie means that you will need to unlock her and raise her Bond Level as well. Astromancers are very similar to Sages, except they have an amazing LUC stat. They have the same tier of elemental spells that Sages do, but their special skills differ a bit. They have a skill which can make you immune to traps for a brief time, a skill which (I think) prevents you from screwing up a Star Maiden scene when you answer a message from a different Star Maiden, and a skill which makes the Star Maidens more likely to send you messages/personal quests. They also have crazy hairdos.

Astromancers will become an option in Team Votes once the three remaining classes are also unlocked.

Huff… Huff… Huff… Looks like we made our Star Child… I really became a Star Maiden…

Yeah… Right…

I feel so light-headed… And I’ve never felt these kinds of emotions before…

What do you mean?

I don’t know how to explain it… It’s a mysterious feeling where my heart is beating so fast. Itsuki…



So I hope we can continue to work together.

Sure. I hope we can work together…

Hmm… I wonder what Mirei meant when- Nah, we don’t have to wait to find out what she meant by the “gave her death” thing. The next event is just going to explain everything.


~Day Camp~

I don’t hear anything. Is Alfie not here today?

*The screen then goes black*


[***]: Guess who!


Alfie, the Star Child! …Did I say that right?



Technically you still are.

Right. You turned into the Ophiuchus Maiden when you kissed me.

E-Eek… P-Please don’t call it a k-kiss.

Sorry. Why are you out here jumping all over me, though? Do you not have training today?

Nope. That’s why I was hoping to deepen our bonds today. I thought touching you like this would help with that… But it looks like I caught you off guard instead.



It’s fine. I think it worked a little bit.

Really? How wonderful… How about we do the Classmating ritual? I bet we can make strong Star Children!

And now we’re back to calling it by the proper name. Weird.

Listen, Alfie. Something has been bothering me ever since we last met.

… Does this have to do with what Mirei said previously?

Mirei would never just tell me about it, at least not directly. That’s just how she is with that kind of stuff. So I felt it was easier to ask you.

… Well… In order for us to deepen our bond, we do have to know each other better… All right. I’ll tell you.

Thank you. It’s not something I can just forget about.

It was 30 years ago today that I was born as a Star Child.

That’s doubtful. I mean the part about it being to the day.

There were no facilities like this Day Camp back then.



That sort of sounds like something that should be a part of a Star Maiden’s duties. I mean, training them is still important, but you would think that the Star Maidens would bear some type of responsibility for the Star Children. And don’t start with any “why is childcare always the woman’s job?” stuff. God’s Gift is responsible for them as well, since he has to lead them through the Labyrinths and handle their equipment. I just bring up this point because we still haven’t been told what the fuck the Star Maidens actually do. We keep hearing they have “duties” and “responsibilities”, but they’ve never expanded on that. The only ones we know of are: 1 Star Maiden class a week (or day, hard to tell), Classmating, and occasionally spending time with Itsuki.

But one day…

Oh, right. Alfie is telling us her backstory. Proceed.

An Impurity suddenly appeared in town and attacked us. It had a body like white smoke, and it still gives me chills thinking about it. God’s Gift at the time managed to fend off the Impurity after a fierce battle… But because the Star Maiden jumped in to protect us, she was gravely injured…

Apparently Femiruna’s reckless disregard for her own life is nothing new as far as Star Maidens are concerned.

She was on her death bed for over a month. Though she did recover, the injury disabled her. I grew to hate the Impurities.



Don’t ask me why Alfie is looking off in a different direction like this. She just occasionally does it. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t really have an “averting my eyes” animation?

…I… um…

After that incident… The kingdom reconsidered the risks that the Star Maidens face. Mirei’s grandfather proposed a plan to the king. He presented a plan to turn Star Children into Star Maidens.

Meddling in Star God’s business huh? That had unfortunate results in CII.

Wait, what?

It’s exactly what it sounds like. It was a plan to modify Star Children… to obtain the same powers as Star Maidens. The God’s Gift and Star Maiden opposed it, but the king moved forward anyway.

Of course they did, because it’s horribly unethical and incredibly blasphemous.

And I was the one selected to be experimented on… At the time, I didn’t know what would be done to me.



Major surgery?! Jesus, Granvania. What the fuck? That is not cool.

But it worked, and I obtained a Star Maiden’s power and ended up like this. This hat is what I wore when I was still small. I treasure it to this day…

That means Alfie was originally a “Hunter” Star Child.

I didn’t know you had a past like that… I’m starting to regret forcing the issue…

It was about 10 years ago… I told Mirei all this when she was still young. She said she couldn’t forgive what her family had done…

Is that why she sealed your powers?

No, she just hid away the “key” that would unseal them. At the same time I was given Star Maiden powers, a seal was placed on them. The seal was meant to be broken when my powers would become needed. Star Children don’t die of natural causes… So even when returning to the Matryoshka, we won’t die. But by unsealing my Star Maiden powers, I’d lose my powers as a Star Child.



So I had to live with those powers sealed until needed as a Star Maiden.

So what Mirei meant was… I made it so you could die?

Oh… But there’s nothing to be sad about! I just became the same as everyone else. Star Children become one with the stars when they fulfill their duty. I was able to live like this longer than any of the other Star Children.

Oh… well, that answers my question as to why there isn’t an army of Star Children deployed in Granvania. Still doesn’t explain why they aren’t using the Star Children that Itsuki has set free as a temporary peace keeping force, though.

But Mirei… She told me there won’t ever be a need for me to become a Star Maiden. No Star Maiden has died, so that power will not be necessary.

She was hilariously wrong about that considering the discovery of the Ophiuchus Labyrinth and the Star Chaos.

So I’ve continued living on without using my powers as a Star Maiden…



Wouldn’t you say… that’s cruler? [sic]

Yeah, it’s very cruel. That isn’t something that someone else should be able to decide for you.

Seriously, Mirei can shut right the fuck up with trying to stop Alfie or making her feel bad about what she did. That is an incredibly personal decision for Alfie. If Mirei regrets what her family did to Alfie, then she should be encouraging Alfie to take her fate into her own hands. Then again, Mirei is the type that likely regrets what was done, but still thinks that Alfie’s powers are a useful tool to keep in reserve, regardless of what Alfie wants for herself.

Thank you… But I do understand why Mirei thinks the way she does. She has a strong sense of justice… She’ll never forgive the king for ignoring her protests about the experiments. I do feel sorry for Mirei…

Wait, what? How did Mirei protest the experiments? You said that the Star Maiden and the God’s Gift at the time were the ones that protested it. Oh shit, is Shang still carrying out those experiments?

But I don’t regret what happened. Now that I am the Ophiuchus Star Maiden… I want to help God’s Gift stand up to the greatest threat in Granvanian history.

Also, yeah. This seems like the exact moment that Alfie was meant for. How can you oppose that, Mirei?

Thanks for telling me all of that, Alfie. What’s done is done. You’re a Star Maiden now whether Mirei likes it or not. So let’s just focus on working together to save this world. We’ll need to keep working on our bond.



…as a means to help deepen bonds. There are many rules scattered throughout these romance dramas… And he said knowing them would be key to deepening bonds with the Star Maidens. That’s why I wanted to know those rules by rewatching those dramas.

How do you watch romance dramas from Sora?

There’s a magical tool that can project the memories of God’s Gifts. Mirei’s grandfather invented it at the request of that God’s Gift.

I question the motives behind that God’s Gift’s request.

But Star Children can’t understand what romance is. The act of making love is banned in Granvania… I’m still resistant to romantic acts and feelings, as those create Impurities.

I’m a little confused by this. Getting freaky isn’t banned, at least not permanently. They only seem to do it when a Star Offering is offline. There’s no indication that Granvania even regulates the amount of sex the people are having. On the other hand, if the Star Children only appear when a God’s Gift does and then disappear once the Star Offering is replaced, then I suppose they wouldn’t get the chance to understand it because the temporary ban would be in place every time they were summoned.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to learn anything…

That is kind of a tough spot. You want to give love to everyone, but you don’t particularly like the idea of romance.

This is what the God’s Gift at the time said:



What shitty drama did he get that from?

So I want to continue giving. Like the idol from Sora that I strive to become.

I see…

Oh… I’m sorry for getting off topic. I watched a romance drama yesterday for the first time in a long while. It was strange… I didn’t understand it 30 years ago, but I think I understood it more now.

What do you mean? What are you understanding?

The rules between a man and a woman in Sora. For example… Some unfortunate event will always interrupt an important meaning. When two people fall in love, a rival will appear to make a love triangle.



When one is on a payphone confessing their love, the time will always run out!

I think those are just tropes. Also, the hell is a “payphone”?

Official Itsuki really does question what a payphone is. Damn kids and their ignorance of past technology, despite having the accumulated knowledge of humanity at their fingertips.

Also, the dramas portray multiple acts of romance between the protagonists. They kiss on dates… and kiss some more on dates… There were so many scenes that were unbearable to watch.

Are you sure that God’s Gift wasn’t just showing you porn?

Ironically, a man and a woman who do all that in a drama… They always cry and get angry, but they always laugh it off at the end too. Is this also a rule that the God’s Gift mentioned?

Honestly, I think you’re asking the wrong guy. Video games are more my thing. I’m not really a romance drama kind of guy.

The God’s Gift at the time always took the Star Maiden out. Now that I think about it, were those dates?



I don’t know what to do…

Um… well… do you want to try going on a date to see what they are like?

Huh?

We can try it to see if it deepens our bond. I went with Collette once, but that was more of a pretend thing to keep us undercover.

… All right. This is for the sake of everyone in Granvania. Please! Let’s go on a date!

Okay. I’ll try and think of things to do.

Yes, please!

Two more events to go, at which point we’ll be caught up. At least these should be a little more fun, now that the tragic backstory is out of the way.

Continued in Part 2...